The present invention relates generally to the field of exercise and nutrition and more particularly to dynamically provide services based on physical activity and dietary goals.
Regular exercise (e.g., physical activity) is a component of good physical and mental health as well as a means for weight control. Exercise burns fat, builds muscle, lowers cholesterol, eases stress and anxiety, allows for restful sleep, etc. Individuals perform exercise consciously and unconsciously through a variety of activities such as housework, running, swimming, walking, biking, weight lifting, etc. The reasons for which an individual performs exercise varies based on personal goals and/or reasons (e.g., weight loss, weight maintenance, stress relief, health considerations, fitness goals, etc.). In order to achieve personal goals and a healthy lifestyle, individuals incorporate nutrition and calorie control with exercise.
In order to carry out daily activities individuals ingest food, which provides energy in the form of calories. Each age group and gender require a different amount of calories from each type of food energy or fuel type (i.e., fat, protein, and carbohydrates) to maintain proper bodily function. In addition, the size of the individual (e.g., height and weight), goals, the time spent performing the physical activity, type of physical activity, and activity level (e.g., light, moderate, very active, extremely active, etc.) also alters the number of calories an individual should consume. The individual maintains, gains, or loses body weight based on an energy balance between the food eaten and energy expended by basic body functions (e.g., temperature, heart rate, breathing, etc.) and physical activity.
Fitness trackers (e.g., physical activity tracker) are devices and/or applications that monitor and track fitness-related metrics such as distance, heartbeat, quality of sleep, type of activity, length of activity, etc. Fitness trackers measure an individual's heartbeat through a fitted chest strap, an optical sensor, and/or another sensor (e.g., biometric). The fitted chest strap includes electrodes, which are in contact with the individual's skin. When the individual's heart beats, a small electrical signal is sent through the heart muscles, which causes a contraction (e.g., one heartbeat). The electrodes detect the electrical signal and send the detection to a microprocessor for monitoring and calculation of the individual's heart rate. Optical sensors work by shining a light on the skin of the individual. The light illuminates capillaries and the optical sensor measures the rate at which blood is being pumped through the capillaries, and thus determines a heart rate. In order to track physical activity, fitness trackers include a 3-axis accelerometer to track movement in each direction, and a gyroscope to measure orientation and rotation. Software associated with the fitness trackers utilize personal data (e.g., height, weight, age, stride length, etc.) with the collected sensor data to convert the movement into steps and activity in addition to calculating a number of calories expended by the individual to perform the activity.